Please, PLEASE my American friends do not believe the hype on healthcare and the British NHS that the right-wing nutjobs are launching at you from every angle. The NHS does not put a price on life. It does not allow people to just die. It does not consider old people not worth saving. It has its problems as much as any other system but it is not as bad as the right-wing campaigners would have you believe.
For starters, all prescriptions on the NHS are only £7. That’s only $10 or $12. Birth control is free and many elderly and lower-income individuals are able to have free prescriptions. Think how expensive drugs are in the states. Imagine that cost going down, way down.
Waiting lists. Yes, sometimes you have to wait just a bit for a procedure or to see a doctor. I had a procedure and had to wait about six weeks; but the thing is, it wasn’t an urgent procedure. If you’ve got cancer, you’re going to be seen pretty darn quick. Yes, my doctor’s office is busy and I stand a better chance of getting an appointment by going there in person at bang on 8.00am; but I’ve always gotten an appointment. And if I were that ill and phoned up, they would put me in straight away. It’s all about severity. The more severe your case, the quicker you are seen. That’s the way it should be. Little six-year-old Suzy with her sniffles should not go before 65-year-old Jim with his shingles no matter what little Suzy’s mother pays.
It’s all about fairness in the NHS. Everyone has an equal opportunity to see a doctor. It’s far from Orwellian and it’s certainly not evil. In fact, there are times when I prefer living with the NHS than I did living with American pay-for healthcare, honestly. Think how you want to think about Obama’s healthcare plan. I don’t care if you are still against it, but please, PLEASE do not believe everything you are hearing about the British health service. It is a lot better than the right-wing nutters would have you believe. From one who has experienced both systems, trust me, it is a good system.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/06/healthcare/index.html
This article sorts through a lot of the claims about nationalised health care and contrasts them with, ya know, reality.
What I’ve heard is that Sarah Palin was one of the instigators of the “let them die” outcry. All it boils down to: The hospitals as they are required to do all over the country is ask you during admittance is; “do you have a living will, and if not do you want info about it” period that’s why Palin is saying it’s evil. Can we request a muzzle to be permanently attached to her mouth and have it left in place eternally!!
It’s the same for our friends up north in Canada! I’ve got a dear friend who has a brain tumor. He has received the BEST treatment there is, without a wait. Because of the location of the tumor (just at the brainstem) they listed it as inoperable, but they fought it and guess what? They BEAT it. They were able to utilize new technologies and get the tumor WITHOUT killing or paralyzing him. If he has anything wrong, of course he’s at the top of the “list” because of his current condition. His bill: Only the cost of his second opinions in the States.
People always fear what they don’t understand. The concept of an NHS-like system is so foreign to most Americans, they fear the change. They aren’t looking at it the right way. I WORK in healthcare. I SEE the over-inflated costs that uninsured people have to pay because the INSURANCE company rules the healthcare system, not the medics or the patients. Really, the premiums we pay for health insurance right now will be very similar to any tax increases we see if we do an NHS system. Think of Cobra plans for people who’ve just lost their job. OUTRAGEOUS! Anywhere from a couple hundred dollars a month to $1500 or MORE for families. I’m sorry…it’s cheaper to go without insurance at that point. But if you have a pre-existing condition, you dont have the option to do without.
Birth control – perfect point. Why NOT make it free? Does it not make sense to save money by giving it away? Let’s see…a few dollars lost for this rx to go to a patient versus $100k for an unplanned pregnancy? Then the child likely has to go onto a government run healthcare policy anyway.
Gah, see…buttons. Yep, it’s amazing what the uneducated will believe. I don’t know everything, but I know enough to know that SOMETHING has to change. Period.
sorry for rant.